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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · spring · board · kick · straw · track · swing · bound

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. board — to get on
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. swing — in golf
  10. board — a committee
  11. track — a path
  12. track — to keep track
  13. season — in sport
  14. bound — certain
  15. season — of the year
  16. swing — to play on
  17. track — a song
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. bound — obliged
  20. spring — the season
  21. bound — tied together
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. swing — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com